The fall of moral education and the rise and decline of civics education and social studies in occupied and independent Japan

Abstract

This paper explores the process and controversies involved in the establishment and implementation of social studies in Occupied Japan. Its objectives are to demonstrate the limits to the Ministry of Education's willingness to reform moral education and to abandon civics education in favour of social studies; to elucidate the American rationale for preferring social studies to civics education; to argue that relatively shallow roots for social studies in Japan meant that a great deal of sophisticated 'nudging' was applied to introduce it; and to discuss reasons for the decline of social studies in Japan since the Occupation ended. Social studies has declined because conservatives argued that the progressive educators' emphasis on individualism, child-centered education, and creating active citizens through the methodology of discussion, debate, and problem-solving were alien to Japanese culture, lowered Japanese academic standards, slighted the integrity of history and geography as independent subjects, and provided a course for radicals to indoctrinate students with Marxism. They claimed that these changes undermined traditional values, weakened social and national cohesion, and slighted national identity. Many educators also argued that the multi-disciplinary content of social studies was too difficult and did not lend itself to testing for Japanese entrance examinations. Finally, the course was introduced and implemented so rapidly and in such an impoverished period that the lack of good educational materials and qualified teachers contributed to a poor start. A foreign occupation could impose social studies; it could not maintain those aspects that did not suit conservative nationalists. Ironically, fifty years later some of the goals and practices of social studies are being advocated by some educators and desired by youth.